Abstract: Range shifts of species driven by climate change are a major factor resulting in biodiversity loss and species extinction. Understanding the responses of geographical distribution to climate change has important implications for long-term biological conservation and management. The golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) is a typical montane pheasant species endemic in China. In this study, we used the maximum-entropy model (MaxEnt) to analyze its current and future geographic distribution under different climate scenarios and predicted the effects of climate change on its distribution and habitat quality. The results showed that: (1) current range of golden pheasant widely distributes in central and western China, with a total area of 306191 km²; (2) its suitable distribution range will shrink under future climate scenarios, with a trend of shifting toward both northwest and higher elevation; (3) under the scenario of climate change, the habitat suitability will gradually decrease and the degree of habitat fragmentation will increase. Although its distribution range is relatively large and well connected at present, it will be threatened by range shrinking and habitat quality declining in the future. For the long-term protection of golden pheasant, we suggest investigate and verify its actual distribution, pay more attention to protect the core distribution range and climate refuges, establish corridors to enhance habitat connectivity, and adjust nature reserves network following the range shifts.

Key words: golden pheasant, climate change, potential distribution, habitat fragmentation, endemic species.